Shoplifter threatened to stab Leamington shop manager after he tried to stop him leaving the store with a basket of meat

He was jailed after being found guilty of robbery
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A shoplifter threatened to stab a Leamington shop manager if he tried to stop him leaving the store with a basket of meat and other products.

And Warwick Crown Court heard it was not the first time drug addict Matthew Court had threatened staff at the Sainsbury’s store in Radford Road, Leamington.

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Court (37) who is from Leamington but of no fixed address, had denied robbing the assistant manager at the store, but was found guilty by the jury.

Warwick Crown Court at the Warwickshire Justice Centre.Warwick Crown Court at the Warwickshire Justice Centre.
Warwick Crown Court at the Warwickshire Justice Centre.

He was jailed for four years and eight months - with a two-month consecutive sentence for two thefts from a Co-op, which he had admitted, after he was cleared of robbery at that store.

Prosecutor John Brotherton said that on June 6 last year Court went into the Co-op store in Clemens Street, Leamington.

“He was seen to pick up a basket and head to the frozen meat section where he proceeded to fill that basket. He was banned from the store because he had shoplifted in the past.”

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So two members of staff approached him in the aisle and asked him to drop the basket and leave.

It was alleged that when Court turned to face them he was holding a knife – but he said it was his mobile phone, and the jury found him not guilty of having a bladed article during the incident which they agreed had been a theft rather than a robbery.

As the two members of staff backed away from him towards the till area, Court continued to walk towards them.

“The defendant walked past them and out of the store with the full basket of meat,” said Mr Brotherton.

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Later the same day, Court, who had also stolen from the Co-op store two days earlier, walked into the Sainsbury’s store in Radford Road.

“He picked up a basket which he proceeded to fill with food items before heading towards the exit without paying.”

The assistant manager, who had seen him, tried to stop him and took the basket from him, which led to a tussle between them as Court tried to snatch it back.

“The defendant put his hand into his back pocket, saying he had a knife and was going to stab the complainant unless he gave him the basket back.

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"He didn’t see a knife, but felt sufficiently threatened to hand it back, and the defendant left the store.”

Court was arrested in Leamington town centre later that evening, but at the police station he was too disruptive to be interviewed, added Mr Brotherton.

After the jury’s verdicts he revealed that Court was ‘a prolific offender,’ with a large number of previous shoplifting convictions.

In 2019 he was jailed for brandishing a syringe needle when he was challenged after stealing from the same Sainsbury’s store, and had only been freed from another sentence a matter of weeks before the robbery.

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Blondel Thompson, defending, commented: “When you look at Mr Court you realise just how drug-ravaged his body is. He has had a troubled life, in and out of custody, stealing to help supply his addiction.

“But since he’s been in custody, no drugs. He has been assisting the chaplain in the chapel and has enhanced status.

“He knows he has to change his life. He is hoping that when he’s released he will be able to obtain accommodation.

“He says at the time he was homeless and had no food. He was stealing to eat and stealing to feed his addiction. This man needs help, but he is beginning to help himself.”

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Jailing Court, Judge Peter Cooke told him: “It has been urged on me that I ought to feel sorry for you because you are the victim of drugs.

“There is some force in that, but you have had countless opportunities to address your offending and you have squandered each and every one of those chances. You go to prison and you come out of prison and you start again.

“I do feel sorry – I feel sorry for shop workers confronted by you who, when they challenge you, are told they are going to be stabbed.”